Iraq's supreme court ruled as unconstitutional the extended mandate of autonomous Kurdistan's parliament, rendering invalid votes taken by the chamber since last year. It is the latest source of tension between Iraq's federal authorities and Kurdistan whose leaders had denounced amendments in the federal budget affecting oil sales from the...

Baghdad, Iraq--Iraq is looking to deepen cooperation with Iran in the transport sector and facilitate the movement of pilgrims between the two countries. The issue was discussed in a meeting in Baghdad between the Iranian and Iraqi ministers focusing on the ways to expand cooperation between the two countries. The meeting...

In a country where political agreements are concluded after endless negotiations between political parties, the objection of the Kurds is delaying a parliamentary vote on the budget. The changes in budget text says the Kurdish region must first deliver 400,000 barrels of oil daily to the federal authorities, along with...

Iraq presented an ambitious plan to turn itself into a regional transportation hub by developing its road and rail infrastructure, linking Europe with the Gulf and other Middle East countries. Once completed, the US$17 billion project known as the "Route of Development" would stretch 1,200 kilometers from Turkey to the...

The Iraqi presidency said the duchess delivered a written message from King Charles III -- who had himself visited Iraq in 2004. The last time a British royal visited Iraq was in 2006 when the late Prince Philip visited a base for British troops deployed to Iraq as part of...

The elegant water craft have long been vastly outnumbered by modern, motorised vessels and are threatened further as Iraq's waterways suffer from droughts linked to climate woes.

ARBIL, IRAQ- Officials in Iraqi Kurdistan say Baghdad is still waiting to reach a "final agreement" with Ankara to resume oil exports to Turkey, where the results of tightly-contested presidential elections hang in the balance. After defying Baghdad and independently exporting crude through Turkey for nearly a decade, Iraq's autonomous...

The Kurdish regional government had for years earned billions of dollars in revenues exporting crude oil to Turkey without the Iraqi federal government's approval. But the exports were suspended in late March when international arbitrators ruled in favor of the Iraqi federal government's right to control oil exports going through...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ -  Iraq Prime Minister Muhammad Shia'a Al-Sudani said that the country is continuing regional economic communication. A statement issued by the Prime Minister's media office said, "Muhammad Shia' al-Sudani received the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayyad and the Deputy Director of the Lebanese State Security...

An Iraqi court sentenced to death a former policeman convicted of killing prominent academic Hisham al-Hashemi, whose murder in 2020 sparked condemnation in the country and abroad. The sentence against Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid for killing Hashemi, an expert on Sunni extremism and a government security adviser, was handed down by...

The bloc's foreign ministers unanimously agree to allow government delegations from Syria to resume their participation in meetings ahead of a key summit in Jeddah on May 19.

Ankara stopped importing oil from Iraqi Kurdistan in March after the International Chamber of Commerce ruled the federal government in Baghdad was the only entity authorized to manage exports.

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's premier sacked Thursday a security chief in Baghdad, his office said in a statement, after a Sunni cleric jailed for fraud escaped and went on the run for two days. Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani also ordered the closure of the detention facility in the capital's...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - A former Iraqi religious official convicted of corruption has escaped police custody, prompting the arrest of more than two dozen officers suspected of helping him flee, the government said Wednesday. Saad Qambash was once head of Iraq's Sunni Waqf, the state body overseeing religious and civilian properties for...

In February this year, the Iraqi foreign minister reiterated Baghdad's support for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, during a visit to Baghdad by his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ -  Iraq's Minister of Water Resources Aoun Diab said on Sunday that the releases of the Tigris River will improve in the coming days. He also said that an invitation was extended to the Iranian Minister of Energy to attend the third Baghdad Water Conference. Diab said that...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammed S. Al-Sudani chaired a meeting focused on discussing the provisions of the federal budget bill submitted to the Parliament. The meeting was attended by Parliament Deputy Speaker Muhsin Al-Mandalawi, Parliament Deputy Speaker Shakhwan Abdullah and MPs of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, as well...

Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr, an influential player in national politics, said he was "freezing" for a year his powerful movement over "sinful" practices among supporters. Sadr, a Muslim Shiite leader, has the ability to mobilize tens of thousands of his supporters with a single message and presents himself as an...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - The World Health Organization (WHO) affirmed it is likely to support Iraq in the localization of its pharmaceutical industry, local media reports say.WHO official Ahmed Zueiten, said, “I spoke with Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani about the partnership between Iraq and global health.” He said, "The organization...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid condemned Turkey on Saturday for bombarding an area near Sulaimaniyah airport in the autonomous Kurdish region, a flashpoint between the two governments. "Turkish military operations against the Kurdistan region continue to take place, the last being the bombardment (Friday) against Sulaimaniyah civilian airport,"...

The deal, thrashed out in talks between federal and regional officials, spells the end of independent oil exports by the Kurdish regional government and marks a clear limit to its autonomy.

Blanketing central Iraq in dust, the sandstorm made life diffcult on Firday for Iraqis venturing out of their homes. A thick film of dust covered cars and houses and many struggled to breathe air filled with sand. It was the first such weather event to hit the aird country this...

Haute couture has given way to upcycled outfits, sourced entirely from used clothes, as the models strut, pause and pivot on the runway, a sign of the growing popularity of chic, environmentally friendly vintage wear among young Iraqis. "We don't want overproduction of clothes, we have to reuse them," said...

The provincial councils, created by the 2005 constitution following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, carry relatively significant power in federal Iraq, including allocating the budgets for health, transport and education.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani will visit Turkey on Tuesday for talks including on scarce water resources and the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a government source said. Sudani is set to meet Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his first visit to Iraq's northern neighbor since...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Iran's top security official on Sunday signed a deal with Iraqi authorities for "protection" of their common border, the Iraqi prime minister's office said, months after Tehran struck Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq's north. Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region hosts camps and rear-bases operated by several Iranian Kurdish factions,...

Iraq has recently hosted a raft of foreign officials, including the Iranian, Russian and Saudi foreign ministers and UN chief Antonio Guterres. Since US-led coalition troops ousted Saddam's Sunni Arab-dominated regime, Iraq's Shiite majority has led Iraq under a confessional power-sharing system. Successive governments have forged close ties with Iraq's...

In spite of divisions over the legislation, Iraq's customs department has given orders to begin enforcing a ban on alcohol imports that became law last month. The specialist retail stores dominating alcohol sales in absence of bars or licensed restaurants however remained open for business, at least in Baghdad.

The warrants do not name any of the officials, but according to the official, they are former finance minister Ali Allawi, the director of cabinet Raed Jouhi, personal secretary Ahmed Najati, and adviser Mushrik Abbas. Allawi, a respected politician and academic, resigned in August last year. When the scandal broke...

In a show of solidarity with Iraq, UN head Antonio Guterres arrived in the country for the first time in six years, after a prolonged political crisis there. On arrival he said that he wanted to show solidarity with the people and the democratic institutions of Iraq, pledging support for...

Damascus, Syria--Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad received today a delegation from the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, participating in the thirty-fourth meeting of the Arab Parliamentary Union, which concluded yesterday in Baghdad. The delegation included Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council, and the speakers of parliaments in Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Libya...

Three years after former US president Donald Trump ordered the killing of top Guards' commander Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian genera has warned that his country is still seeking to kill Trump and his secretary of state Mike Pompeo in revenge for assassinating the commander. Tehran has repeatedly vowed to avenge...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Speaker of the UAE Federal National Council (FNC) Saqr Ghobash said that Arab parliaments should are required to coordinate parliamentary work. He said that Arab parliaments should unify positions on all common issues, activate the role of parliamentary diplomacy and cooperate in order to achieve the integration...

This strain - never before recorded in Iraq - is resistant to the vaccines normally used in the country, leaving authorities scrambling to obtain the right doses to inoculate livestock and prevent further spread. "The infections are much higher," lamented 26-year-old Roumi from his farm in the village of Badush...

AMMAN, JORDAN - Chairman of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Khalil Haj Tawfiq said Iraq is an "important" trade partner and gateway for Jordan's economy. Haj Tawfiq said, "Jordan and Iraq have wide, prolific potentials, fields and grounds to build economic integration, in light of the strong brotherly relations,...

Iraq admitted it had differences with France's TotalEnergies over a US$10-billion contract, including over the distribution of investments, but expressed hope they can be resolved through talks. "We have given ourselves time to continue the dialogue and reach a satisfactory solution for the parties involved regarding certain points of contention,"...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ -  First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohsen Al-Mandalawi said that the tourism sector in Iraq has all the ingredients for success. Al-Mandalawi made the statement while meeting with the Association of Travel and Tourism Companies in Iraq, a statement issues by the  media office of the First Deputy...

The International Organization for Migration said in an October report that "prevailing customs and traditions... limit women's activities to their domestic and nurturing role". Adel said such prejudices, as well as practical difficulties, posed a challenge to fulfilling her dream. A graduate of the University of Baghdad who specialised in...

Iraq's prime minister said the country's central bank governor had been relieved of his duties as the local currency continues to fall against the dollar. "The central bank governor's request for discharge was approved, as was the request for retirement by the president of the Trade Bank of Iraq," Prime...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - The Civil Aviation Authority announced the work to conclude new air agreements with the Gulf states. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, Jihad Al-Diwan, told local media agency: "We have agreements with all Gulf countries and all Gulf national carriers that land in Iraqi airports, except for...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ  - Iraqi Parliamentary Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi said that an oil pipeline from Basra port to the Jordanian port of Aqaba will soon be operational pointing to many areas of cooperation between the two countries. Al-Halbousi, who spoke at a joint press conference at Baghdad airport with Jordan's Lower...

While the official exchange rate has been fixed at 1,470 Iraqi dinars against the dollar, the currency was trading at up to 1,600 to the greenback on local markets from mid-November, before settling at about 1,570 dinars, according to state media.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani left Thursday for Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and discuss projects to address chronic power shortages, the premier's office said. Despite its oil riches, Iraq is beset by crumbling infrastructure, endemic corruption and decades of war. Dependent on its...

The refinery production from high-octane gasoline will be a grade of 95, with a capacity ranging from 8 to 9 million litres per day.

Baghdad, Iraq---Iraqi telecommunications worker Youssef Ahmed is married with a five-year-old son, but lives with his parents because he is unable to afford his own home amid soaring property prices. "Even if your income increases, it will never be up to the exorbitant prices of houses or land", said 29-year-old Ahmed,...

Iraq's prime minister appealed to visiting Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni for closer economic ties with his oil-rich country suffering from power cuts and decaying infrastructure. Meloni, who leads the eurozone's third-largest economy, is on her first bilateral trip outside Europe. She is on a pre-Christmas visit to Italian troops posted...

Iraq has been caught for years in a delicate balancing act between its two main allies, the United States and Iran, and Baghdad only recently arrived at a fragile compromise government after a year of political stalemate. The conference was a test for Iraq's new Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani,...

The "Baghdad II" meeting in Jordan, which alongside regional powers also includes officials from France and the European Union, follows an August 2021 summit in Iraq's capital organized at the initiative of Macron. "There is a way that is not... a form of hegemony, imperialism, a model that would be...

Iraq is currently supplying Jordan with 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

The latest fire came after three people were lightly hurt on Tuesday when a blaze broke out in a refreshments area in the departures lounge of one of the terminals.